Centrifugal clothes drier



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 11, 1959 l n vemor Ron A740 foam/v0 P0045 A orne Oct. 9, 1962 Filed Dec. 11, 1959 R. R POOLE CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES DRIER 5 SheetsSheet 2 Inventor At rn Oct. 9, 1962 R. R. POOLE 5 CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES DRIER Filed Dec. 11, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I n 0 en for P004410 fiaezerso/v P0046 At om United States PatentOfifice 3,057,480 Patented Oct. 9, 1962 3,057,480 CENTRIFUGAL CLUTHES DRIER Ronald Robertson Poole, Berkhamsted, England, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 858,878 Claims priority, application Great Britain Dec. 18, 1958 3 Claims. (Cl. 210368) This invention relates to centrifugal clothes driers.

When the drive motor is de-energized, after the clothes have been dried, the inertia of the clothes drum and clothes in it results in slow deceleration of the drum.

In a drier according to this invention there is a friction brake for the drum, and the inertia of the drum, when the drive motor is accelerating the drum, causes disengagement of the brake, and, when the motor is deenergized, initiates engagement of the brake.

The brake results in an improved rate of deceleration. The inertia of the drum, when the motor is de-energized, is usually insufficient to engage the brake satisfactorily. There are preferably means for forcing the drum in a direction to apply the brake, and the inertia, upon deenergization of the drum, assists the means to apply the brake.

The means may be springs but are preferably the effect of gravity. The drum is arranged with its axis vertical and is lifted, upon its acceleration, to disengage the brake.

The interconnection between the drum and drive motor preferably includes a cam surface for obtaining axial movement for brake engagement and disengagement.

The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims; and how it may be performed is hereinafter particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a centrifugal drier according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through part of the drier; and

FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6 are modifications of the part shown in FIGURE 2.

The centrifugal drier (FIGURE 1) comprises an outer shell 1, a clothes drum 2 rotatable about a vertical axis, a deflector plate 3, and a motor 4 suspended from the deflector plate by flexible suspension elements 5.

In use, wet clothes are placed in the drum 2 which is then rotated by the motor 4 to force water from the clothes out of slots 6 in the drum. The water which emerges from the slots 6 is directed out of the shell 1 by the deflector plate 3 to a spout 7.

There is an interconnection, shown in FIGURES 2 to 6, between the drum 2 and motor 4 such that the inertia of the drum, upon the latter being accelerated, lifts the drum to effect release of a brake 8, and, upon de-energization of the motor, assists the weight of the drum to apply the brake. The same reference numerals are used to indicate corresponding parts in these four figures.

The interconnection shown in FIG. 2 includes a cam and comprises a motor shaft 9, a bracket 10 fixed to the motor housing 11 and having a flat horizontal surface to which a friction element 12 is fixed. The upper end of the motor shaft 9 is tapered and an internally tapered member 13 is secured to it by means of a large washer 14 and nut 15. A sleeve 16 fits over and is rotatable relatively to the member 13, and has an upper flange 17 which is fixed to the bottom of the drum and a lower flange 18 which is transverse to the shaft 4 and cooperates with the friction element 12. Complementary spiral grooves are formed on the internal surface of the sleeve 16 and the external surface of the member 13, and constitute a continuous path for steel balls 20'.

In operation, when the motor 4 is accelerating the drum 2, the inertia of the drum causes relative rotation between the sleeve 16 and the member 13, and this results in the drum being lifted by the balls 20. The flange 18 is thereby lifted clear of the friction element 12 and the brake is disengaged. The relative rotation continues until the sleeve engages an abutment, the washer 14, rigid with the shaft. When the motor is de-energized, the inertia of the drum assists gravity in causing relative rotation between the member 13 and sleeve 16 in the opposite direction so that the flange 18 engages the friction element 12. This brings the drum to rest quickly.

The interconnection shown in FIGURE 3 is almost the same as the interconnection shown in FIGURE 2. The only difference is that the helical grooves in the member 13 and the sleeve 16 and balls 20 are replaced by interengaged square threads of coarse pitch.

In the interconnection shown in FIGURE 4, there are no threads or helical grooves. Instead the lower end of the sleeve 16 has two diametrically opposed cam surfaces 21; and two diametrically opposed cam followers, in the form of the rollers 22, are fixed to the member 13. When the motor is accelerating the drum, the cam followers 22 move to the left (FIG. 3) relatively to the sleeve 16, and this raises the sleeve to disengage the brake. When the motor is tie-energized, the inertia of the drum assists gravity in causing the sleeve to move downwardly to reapply the brake.

In the interconnection shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, the lifting of the drum, upon its acceleration, is not effected by a cam. The interconnection shown in these two figures comprises a pair of links 23; the upper ends of the links are connected to the member 13, and therefore to the shaft 9', and the other ends are connected to the sleeve 16. The links project through slots 24 in the flange 18 of the sleeve, and the slots 24 and links are so arranged that the inertia of the drum on acceleration of the motor causes the links to pivot from a position (full lines FIGURE 5) in which they are inclined to the motor shaft to a position (dotted lines) in which they have just passed over dead centre and are more nearly parallel to the shaft axis. As the links pivot towards the dead centre position the drum is lifted and the flange 18 moved clear of the brake element 12. When the motor is deenergized, the inertia of the drum causes suflicient relative rotation of the sleeve 16 and member 13 for the links to pass over dead centre, whereupon the drum sinks so that the flange 18 engages the brake element 12 under the influence of gravity.

I claim:

1. A centrifugal clothes drier comprising a clothes drum rotatable about a vertical axis, a motor for driving said drum, a friction brake engageable by the weight of said drum, and an interconnection device between the drive shaft of said motor and said drum, said interconnection device comprising inertia operable cam means for effecting relative axial displacement between said motor and said drum to effect disengagement of said brake upon acceleration of said drum by said motor and to assist engagement of said brake by gravity upon deenergization of said motor, and said cam means comprising a member fixed to the drive shaft of said motor and having a helical groove, a sleeve fixed to said drum, fitting around said member, and having a helical groove, said helical grooves constituting a roller path, roller balls in said path, and an abutment rigid with said shaft; whereby, in operation, acceleration of said motor causes, until engagement of said sleeve and abutment, relative rotation between said sleeve and member and raising of said drum to disengage said brake.

2. A centrifugal clothes drier comprising a clothes drum rotatable about a vertical axis, a motor for driving said drum, a friction brake engageable by the Weight of said drum, and an interconnection device between said drum and said motor, said interconnection device comprising inertia operable cam means for eifecting relative axial displacement between said motor and said drum to effect disengagement of said brake upon acceleration of said drum by said motor and to assist engagement of said brake by gravity upon de-energization of said motor, and said cam means comprising a sleeve fixed to said drum, a member fixed to said motor rotor, said sleeve and member having interengaging threads, and an abutment rigid with said motor rotor, whereby, in operation, acceleration of said motor causes, until engagement of said sleeve and abutment, relative rotation between said sleeve and member and raising of said drum by said device to disengage said brake.

3. A centrifugal clothes drier comprising a clothes drum rotatable about a vertical axis, a motor for driving said drum, a friction brake engageable by the weight of said drum, and an interconnection device between said drum and said motor, said interconnection device comprising inertia operable means for effecting relative axial displacement between said motor and said drum to effect disengagement of said brake upon acceleration of said drum by said motor and to assist engagement of said brake upon de-energization of said motor, said device comprising a sleeve fixed to said drum and having a flange, a pair of links each having one end pivotally connected to the rotatable part of said motor and the other end pivotally connected to said sleeve, said links projecting through slots in said flange, said slots and links being so arranged that the inertia of said drum, on acceleration of said motor, causes the links to pivot from a position in which they are inclined to the motor shaft towards a position in which they are more nearly parallel to the shaft axis so as to raise said drum to disengage said brake.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 710,759 Coleman et a1. Oct' 7, 1902 2,197,819 Vickers Apr. 23, 1940 2,826,056 Bruckman Mar. 11, 1958 2,847,869 Hogan et al. Aug. 19, 1958 2,946,409 Jennings July 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 262,025 Germany Feb. 14, 1912 

